Method of skein dyeing yarn



Jan. 7, 1969 J. A. scRoGGlE ErAl. 3,419,925

METHOD OF SKEIN DYEING YARN Filed April 25. 1966 sheet` of s NVENTORS JAMES A. SCROGG/E MIRO# DA VIDJ'ON FLOY CHARLES HALL l GEORGE ALBERT PARLE Y ATTORNEYS FIG. 1

Jan. l7, 1969 J. A. scRoGGlE ET AL 3,419,925

METHOD OFYSKEIN DYEING' YARN y I l sheet 2 of 6 Filed A pril 25, 1966 MVM/fans JAMES A. :moss/E Mika/v @Av/050A! nava canines HALL 650e Mae/e7' #Amay BYQM r! Jan. 7, 1969 J. A. scRoGGlE ET A1- 3,419,925

METHOD OF SKEIN DYEIG YARN Filed April 25.*1966 sheet 3 of e ,2 L 1102 fao f [I1/VENT ORS JAMES A. '.STROGGIE MIRO DAV/DSON 'Zy CHARLES HALL GEORGE ALGER? FARLY ATTORNEYS Jan.7,1969 A J.A.SCROGG|E ET'AL 3,419,925

METHOD OF SKEIN DYEING YARN Filed April `25, 1966 l lsheet FIG. 1.1

" L Haro CHARLES HALL G50/ace AMER? Famer #BY/m2994719@ Armin/frs vFiled April 25, 196e Jan. 7, 1969 A. scRoGGlE ETAL METHOD 0F sKEIN DYEING YARN ySheet 5 of 6 N le. A

N g M" zum cfm/nfs HALL fome AL senr FA may wf@ A Jan. 7, 1969 J. A. scRoGGlE ET AL 3,419,925

METHOD OF' SKEIN DYEING -QRN Filed April 25, 1966 sheet 6 of e FIG. 13

Wfl/fons JAMES A. :maas/E Mavo on v/osaf/ Hoyo omnes Hau.' Geo/ras maar Famer 197' f ORNE YS' United States Patent O 30,93 U.S. Cl. 8-155.2 25 Claims Int. Cl. D06p 7/00 ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a method of skein dyeing yarn and is primarily concerned with skeins of substantially greater weight than that normally employed. The size of the skeins normally used in a dyeing operations has been limited by various factors among which has been the inability to obtain uniform dyeing throughout the entire skein. Normally when a skein is wound it is of uneven thickness and the more yarn which is wound onto the skein the greater the variation and thickness across the width of the skein. The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a method which includes the steps of winding yarn from a package into a skein on a collapsible reel. The yarn is guided transversely of the reel as it is wound onto the reel to form layers of equal depth across the full extent of the reel. The winding operation is continued until a predetermined amount of yarn is wound onto the reel after which the reel is collapsed and the skein is removed and dyed. After dyeing the skein is mounted onto a stationary swift from which it is unwound into a package. The use of a stationary swift in the unwinding operation prevents the handling difficulties which would otherwise arise where skeins weighing up to 12 pounds or so were mounted on a rotating swift. Also the stationary swift serves to apply a constant expansion pressure upon the skein which is supported thereon. The method of the present invention is such that it permits yarn to be Wound onto and unwound from a skein at speeds in the range of 600 to 1500 yards per minute in skein widths measuring from to 40 inches.

This invention relates to a method of skein dyeing yarn wherein yarn contained on a cone or other similar package is wound into a skein, dyed in a vat and then rewound from the skein into a package.

The invention is applicable to any type of yarn that is customarily dyed such as wool or synthetic fibre of all types.

There are two common methods of dyeing yarn. One is known as package dyeing wherein a package of undyed yarn is immersed in a vat of dye and subjected to pressure to dye the yarn. The other is known as skein dyeing wherein the yarn is wound into a skein and the skein is immersed in a dye bath, removed and subsequently the yarn is rewound into a package. The former method is very much more economical but the product is not as good. In many cases the dyeing is not uniform throughout the entire package. The handle of the yarn is not as attractive because the yarn is in a compressed form during the dyeing operation. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, however, the package dyeing method is quite popular because it is very much cheaper.

As indicated above, this invention relates to improvements in the skein dyeing process, and with the invention it is possible to increase productivity to a point where the cost of skein dyeing yarn very closely approaches and in some cases will be less than the cost of package dyeing yarn.

ICC

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for skein dyeing yarn that is very much more economical than the methods heretofore known.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of skein dyeing yarn wherein the end product is of an improved quality by reason of its containing fewer knots.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a method of skein dyeing yarn wherein the process waste is reduced.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of skein dyeing yarn wherein the storage problems for work in process are reduced.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a method for skein dyeing yarn that will yield a product of improved quality having a good handle.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a method of skein dyeing yarn in which the required skill of the operators is a minimum.

The sum total of these objects is a product of increased or better quality at a lesser production cost and generally speaking the method of this invention for skein dyeing yarn contained on a package comprises the steps of winding the yarn from the package to a collapsible reel, guiding the yarn transversely of the reel as it is so wound on the reel to wind it in layers of equal depth that extend fully across the reel, stopping the winding operation when a predetermined amount of yarn is wound on the reel, collapsing the reel and removing the yarn as a skein, dyeing the skein, mounting the skein on a stationary swift and then winding the yarn from the stationary swift into a package.

An important step in the method is the winding of the yarn in layers of equal depth that extend fully across the reel prior to dyeing. This results in a skein of equal depth that does not have a lbuild-up at the ends and by this expedient one can wind a very much larger skein without encountering the difficulties of uneven dyeing. Customarily skeins are in the neighbourhood of six ounces in weight. With this invention skeins of tive and six pounds have been processed and dyed uniformly and there is no reason why skeins of twelve pounds and higher cannot be used. The apparent limitation and the size of the skein to date is the ability of the present dyeing vats to handle the skeins.

The invention will be clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a pictorial partially sectioned view of the skein reel;

FIGURE 2 is a partial view of the collapsible reel of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a partial View of a guide roll and the end being guided;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing the change-over in traverse direction of the guided end;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing the end traversing in the opposite direction to that shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed view of the guide roll of FIG- URE l showing the form of the grooves;

FIGURE 7 (see sheet containing FIGURE l) is a partial sectional view of the guide roll of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is an end view of a conventional skein dyeing vat;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional side view of a dye vat showing the circulation of the dye;

IIGURE 10 is a pictorial front view of a stationary swi t;

FIGURE 11 is an end view of the stationary swift of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a pictorial view of the skein winder; and

FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic representation of the path followed by the end in the bobbin winder of FIG- URE 11.

With reference to the drawings, the end is wound into a skein on the skein reel which is generally indicated by the reference numeral in FIGURE l. The skein reel 10 includes a driven guide -roll 12 and a driven collapsible reel 14 onto which the yarn is wound to form a skein. In the preferred embodiment the skein reel 10 is used to wind a single skein and in this respect the present invention differs from the conventional skein reel which winds a plurality of ends onto a large collapsible reel to form a plurality of independent skeins.

A housing is adapted to enclose a variable speed electric motor 16 and to support a rotatable shaft 18 of a collapsible reel. The shaft 18 is adapted to rotate within bearings 22 and 24 and extends horizontally outwardly from the housing 20, The electric motor 16 drives the shaft 18 by means of pulleys 26 and 28 and drive belt 30. The pulley 28 is keyed to the shaft 18. A second pulley 32 of greater diameter than the pulley 28 is also keyed to the shaft 18 and rotates with the shaft 18 to drive the pulley 34 by means of the drive belt 36. The pulley 34 is rigidly keyed to the guide roll shaft 38 which is in turn keyed to the guide roll 12. From the aforegoing it will be apparent that electric motor 16 drives the collapsible reel 14 and the guide roll 12, and the required relative speed of the guide roll 12 and the collapsible reel 14 can be achieved by the selection of appropriate pulleys.

A third pulley is rigidly secured to and rotates with the shaft 18. The pulley 40 drives a revolution counter pulley 42 by means of the drive belt 44. The pulley 42 drives a revolution counter which indicates the number of revolutions of the collapsible reel on the control panel 46 by means of an indicator 48.

With reference to FIGURES l and 2, the collapsible reel 14 comprises a plurality of blades 50 which are pivotally connected by means of pivot pins 52 to the radially extending arms 54 of a spider wheel 56. The spider wheel 56 is rigidly keyed to the rotatable shaft 18 and rotates with the shaft 18 to drive the blades 50. The blades are pivotably connected at their other end to a second spider wheel 58 by means of pivot pins 60, 62 and spacer link 64. The spider wheel 58 is substantially the same as the spider wheel 56 but has shorter radially extending arms.

With particular reference to FIGURE 2 it can be seen that the rotatable shaft 18 is formed with a longitudinally extending key way 66 which is adapted to receive a key 68 carried by the spider wheel 58 such that the spider wheel 58 will rotate with the shaft 18 and may be moved longitudinally with respect to the shaft 18. With reference to FIGURES l and 2 it will be apparent that as the spider wheel 58 moves inwardly from the position shown in FIGURE 1 to the position shown in FIGURE 2, the ends of the blades 50, connected to the spider wheel 58 by means of the links 64, will becollapsed inwardly toward the shaft 18 and the other end of the blade will pivot at pivot pins 52 such that the reel 14 will be tapered toward the free end thereof to facilitate the removal of a skein.

Collapsing and expanding of the reel is achieved by means of a double acting pneumatic unit 70 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 18 by means of a clamping bracket 72. As shown in FIGURE 2, the shaft 18 is formed with a bore 74 and the air lines 76 and 78 connecting to the pneumatic unit 70 pass into the bore 74 by way of openings 79 and 80. The air lines 76 and 78 pass through the bore 80 to the bearing 24 wherein they communicate with stationary air lines 76A and 78A respectively. The air lines 76 and 78 rotate with the shaft 18 and communicate in a well known manner with the stationary air lines 76 and 78A respectively by means of passageways (not shown) formed in the bearing housing 24. The double acting pneumatic unit 70 is connected to a radially extending arm 57 of the spider wheel 58 by means of a directing -rod 84 and a securement (86). From the aforegoing it will be apparent that when air is applied to the double acting pneumatic unit 70 by Way of the air line 76, the spider Wheel 58 will be drawn inwardly toward the pneumatic unit 70 and when air is supplied to the pneumatic unit by way of air lines 78, the spider wheel 58 will be pushed outwardly away from the pneumatic unit 70. The collapse and expansion of the collapsible reel 14 is achieved by means of the actuation of the double acting pneumatic unit 70.

Referring once more to FIGURE l, it can be seen that the guide roll 12 is carried by the guide roll shaft 38 which as previously described is driven by means of the pulley 34. The guide roll shaft 38 is supported by a bearing towards its inner end, the bearing 90 being rigidly supported by the housing 20. The outer end of the guide roll shaft 38 is supported by and rotates relative to an upstanding support prop 92. The upstanding prop 92 is preferably grouted in position to support the guide roll shaft such that the axis of rotation with the guide roll shaft 38 is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotatable shaft 18 of the reel 40.

An important feature of the present invention is the use of a continuously rotating guide roll in combination with a collapsible reel. The rotatable guide roll replaces the conventional reciprocating guide means and overcomes the problem of the buildup of the end toward the edges of the skein normally associated with skein winding. In the dyeing process it is extremely important that the skein is of uniform thickness to ensure uniform colouring of the yarn.

In the known skein winders the traverse speed of the end is not constant. Generally the traverse speed is greatest at the centre of the skein and decreases toward the edge of the skein. As the rotational speed of the collapsible reel is constant it follows that the amount of yarn wound onto the skein at any one point is dependent upon the traverse speed of the end across the reel. Consequently in the known devices a greater amount of yarn is deposited toward the edges of the skein due to the reduced traverse speed of the end, and this build-up tends to cause uneven colouring of the yarn in the dyeing process.

The problem of providing an evenly wound skein has been overcome in the present invention by employing a guide roll of the type hereinafter described in detail which causes the end to traverse the width of the skein at a substantially uniform speed.

With reference to the drawings, it can be seen that the guide roll 12 is provided with spiral grooves 100 and 102 which extend over substantially the full width of the guide roll and which coincide with one another at cross-over points 104 and 106. The groove 100 is adapted to cause the end 110 to traverse the guide roll in a direction from the cross-over point 104 to the cross-over point 106 and the groove 102 is adapted to cause the end 110 to traverse the guide roll from the cross-over point 106 to the crossover point 104.

With particular reference to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, it can be seen that the reversal of the direction of traverse of the end is achieved by the rotation of the guide roll. In FIGURE 3 the end 110 is travelling in the groove 102 toward the cross-over point 104. As the guide roll rotates to the position shown in FIGURE 4 the end follows the groove 102 to the cross-over 104 and then the direction of traverse of the end is reversed and the end follows the groove 100. In the position shown in FIGURE 4 the portion of the end leading to the guide roll lies in the groove and is traversing to the left while the portion of the end leading from the guide roll lies in the groove 100 and is traversing to the right. In the position shown in FIGURE 5 the end is in the groove 100 and is traversing to the left. At the end cross-over points 104 and 106 the depth of both grooves decreases to facilitate the change-over from one groove to the other. It will be apparent that the traverse feed of the end is directly related to the pitch of the grooves. A principal object of the present invention is to provide skeins of even depth and it has been found that the best results can be achieved by increasing the pitch of the grooves over the last turn. This practice overcomes the increase in depth of the skein which arises from the folding over of the end required to achieve the reversal of direction of traverse.

In guiding the end across the width of the guide roll the end tends to reverse its direction of travel at each intersection. This problem has been overcome by making one groove deeper than the other at the intersections. When the end is travelling in a deep groove there is no danger of the end engaging the shallow groove and reversing its direction of traverse. As it has been found that there is greater difficulty encountered in moving the yarn outwardly from the centre portion of the guide roll to the cross-over points, the portion of each groove which carries the yarn away from the centre portion of the guide roll toward both ends of the roll have been cut deep and the portion of the grooves which move the yarn inwardly towards the centre portion of the guide roll have been cut shallow at the intersection points. A bail 107 is formed as shown in FIGURE 5 to guide the arm into the groove 100 which is moving the yarn towards the centre position of the guide roll.

FIGURE 6 clearely shows the arrangement of the bails 107 and their relationship to the traversing direction of the end. Groove 100 is adapted to guide the end from left to right as seen in FIGURE 6 and the first portion of the groove which guides the yarn towards the centre portion of the roll is formed with bails 107 whereas the remaining portion of the groove which carries the yarn toward the edge of the guide roll is cut deep and does not have bails. The groove 102 is similarly provided with bails 107 over the portion which guides the end inwardly towards the centre portion of the guide roll.

When in use the guide roll is spaced from the unwinding package a minimum distance of 3 ft. and the deep grooves are preferably cut to a depth of 11A and the grooves are SAS deep at the crossing.

Due to the fact that the skein reel hereinbefore described forms a skein which does not have the edge build up which produces uneven colouring in the dyeing process, it is possible to increase the Weight of the yarn wound into a single skein. Heretofore considerable difficulty has been experienced in obtaining the required uniformity of colouring when working with skeins weighing in -excess of 6 ounces. The apparatus of the present invention has proved that skeins weighing from 5 to 6 pounds can easily be processed in the existing dye vats and the limiting factor is only the ability of existing equipment to handle the skeins of greater weight than have previously been employed. It is known that skeins weighing up to 12 pounds can be evenly wound upon the apparatus of the present invention and these can be dyed lsuccessfully with minor modifications to the existing dye vats.

The depth of the skein wound by the reel of the present invention will be substantially the same as the depth of the normal skein produced by the apparatus now in use. The normal depth of a skein is in the region of 2 on the reel. This is a factor which has been determined by the dyeing operation and any improvement in the dyeing operation could result in an increase in the skein depth.

The width of the skein wound by the apparatus of the present invention is preferably to 28 and may go to 80". In the prior art skeins are normally wound in widths from 4" to 7".

Numerous advantages are derived from the fact that larger skeins can be wound on the skein Winder of the present invention and a principal advantage lies in the fact that productivity can be increased by 4.5 or 5 to 1 with the corresponding reduction in processing costs.

The fact that the skeins are wound in larger packages means that there are .fewer stoppages in the winding and unwinding process with a resultant increase in throughput and a reduction of waste due to the number of knots. The use of larger skeins also reduces the storage problems associated with work in progress and simplifies the programming of the work. Furthermore the skein reel apparatus hereinbefore described and the package winding apparatus described hereinafter are simpler to operate than v the apparatus at present in use with the result that there is less skill required in their operation and this considerably reduces the operator training period and eliminates the stoppages which result from the failure of the operator to co-ordinate the various manipulations required in the operation of existing apparatus.

Passing now to the dyeing operation it is to be noted that the larger skeins provided by the skein winder of the present invention can readily be processed in the known dye vats and the design of the dye vats forms no part of the present invention. With reference to FIGURES 8 and 9 the dye vat is generally indicated by the reference numeral and the skein carrier rack is generally indicated by the reference numeral 152. The dye vat 150 is a substantially rectangular open chamber which is adapted to receive the carrier 152 such that the top cover 154 of the carrier 152 closes the open end of the dye vat when the carrier is operably located within the dye vat. The carrier 152 is carried by a hydraulic cylinder 156 by means of a connecting rod 158 and the carrier 152 is lowered into and raised out of the ldye vat by the action -of the hydraulic cylinder. When the carrier 152 is loaded with skeins it is lowered into the vat 150 and the dye is circulated through the vat first in one direction and then in the opposite direction in a well known manner.

After the -dyeing process, the yarn is dried and then rewound into packages as is the practice in the conventional dyeing process.

FIGURES 10 and 1l illustrate the apparatus employed in the present invention which replaces the rotating swift of the conventional apparatus. For the purpose of this description, this apparatus is hereinafter referred to as a stationary swift and is generally indicated by the reference numeral 160 in FIGURE 9. The stationary swift 160 comprises a back plate 162 which is rigidly supported by upright support pillars 164-, struts 166 and base support members 168. Six skein support arms extend horizontally outwardly from the back plate 162 and are rigidly carried at their inner ends by link ar-ms 172. The link arms 172 are rigidly connected to one end of rotatable shafts 174 which extend through the back plate 162 and are rotatable with respect to the back plate 162. The other ends of the shafts 174 are adapted to rigidly carry planetary gears 176 which in turn engage the large sun gear 178 (see FIGURE 9). The planetary gears 176 yare arranged at equally spaced apart points around the sun gear 178. The sun gear 178 is rotatably mounted on a centrally located shaft 180 which is rigidly supported by the back plate 162. A lever arm 182 is rigidly secured to the sun gear 178 and is adapted to rotate with the sun gear 178 about the shaft 180. The free end of the lever arm 182 is pivotably connected to the free end of a piston rod 184 by means of a pivot pin 186. The connecting rod 184 extends outwardly from a double acting pneumatic unit which is pivotably connected at its other end t0 the support frame 164 by means of a pivot pin 192 and a bracket 194. The double acting pneumatic unit 190 is adapted to provide a reciprocating motion of the connecting rod 184 which in turn transmits a rotational motion to the sun gear 178 by means of the connecting rod 182. The rotational motion of the sun gear 178 causes the planetary gears 176 to rotate and this rotation is transmitted to the link arms 172. In FIGURE 10 in skein support arms 170 are located in the collapsed position such that they are closely grouped to receive a skein as illustrated by the broken lines 200. By activating the pneumatic cylinder 190 the planetary wheels are rotated `as previously described to cause the link arms 172 to pivot and thereby move the skein support arms 170 outwardly to contact the skein in the manner shown in broken lines on FIGURE 1l. A foot pedal 196 is conveniently located to activate the pneumatic cylinder to expand or collapse the skein support arms as required.

Each of the skein support arms 170 is provided with a spirally extending coil 175 which is rigidly connected to the support arms 170 adjacent each end thereof and prevents lateral movement of the skein during the un- Winding process described hereinafter.

A central support shaft 210 is rigidly secured to the back plate 162 at its inner end and is centrally located with respect to the longitudinal axes of the skein support arms 170. The support shaft 210 is adapted to rotatably carry a free floating guide wheel 220 at its outer end. The free floating wheel 220 comprises a central boss 222 which is adapted to rotate within an opening formed in the free end of the support shaft 210 and radially extending wire frame arms 224. The frame arms 224 extend radially outwardly from the boss 222 and support an outer guide ring 226 and then the arms are bent over to extend horizontally toward the back support plate 162 to support an inner guide ring 228 at their inner free ends; the diameter of the outer guide ring 226 being somewhat smaller than the diameter of the inner guide ring 228; the diameter of both outer ring 226 and the inner ring 228 being greater than the external -diameter of Ian expanded skein mounted on the support arms 170 (see FIGURE 11). An important feature of the stationary swift lies in the fact that the inner ring 228 is located substantially equidistant between the inner and outer ends of the support arms 170 thereby ensuring the maximum inclination of the end relative to the skein as it is being unwound from the skein.

1n use the free floating guide wheel 220 is removed from the end of the shaft 210 and the support arms 170 lare collapsed to the position shown in FIGURE 10. A skein, shown by the broken lines 200, is loosely placed over the support arms 170. The free floating wheel 220 is then mounted on the shaft 210 as previously described and the end 201 shown in broken lines is fed over the inner ring 223 and the outer ring 226 as shown in PIG- URE 10. The support arms 170 are then expanded to the position shown in FIGURE 11 by operating the foot pedal 196. The end 201 is fed to a bobbin winder, described hereinafter, which pulls the end 201 in a direction substantially parallel to the horizontal axis of the skein, and causes it to unwind from the stationary skein. As the skein is stationary the unwinding is achieved by the pull applied to the end by the skein Winder and this causes the end to rotate around the free oating wheel 220 in the direction of the arrow 203 (see FIGURE l). It will be apparent that the direction of unwinding is determined by the way in which the skin is located on the swift. As the wheel 220l is free floating, the friction of the end passing over the inner and outer rings 228 and 226 causes the wheel to rotate freely and this action assists the lifting of the unwinding end from the stationary skein. The fact that the inner ring 228 is located equidistant between the outer and inner edges of the skein 200 causes the minimum unwinding angle of the end relative to the stationary skein to be greater than would be the case if only the outer ring 226 where employed, and this increases the tendency of the end to lift away from the skein rather than causing the end to move laterally across the skein during the unwinding process. It will be apparent that if the free floating wheel 220 were removed then the end could be removed from the expanded skein 'by applying a pulling force in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of the skein but this would cause the end when unwinding from the inner edge of the skein v-lO adjacent the back plate 162 to extend over and contact the surface of a large part of the skein and this would greatly increase the tension required to unwind the end and increase the likelihood of tangling during the unwinding process. It will also be apparent that the process could be carried out with the wheel 220 rigidly located relative to the centre shaft 210 such that it did not rotate, but it has been found that the best results yare achieved by permitting the wheel to rotate freely.

The end is rewound onto a package by means of the skein winder generally indicated by the reference numeral 300 in FIGURE l2. The skein Winder 300 comprises a frame 302 which includes upright supports 304 and horizontal supports 306, 308 and 310. Only two uprights supports 304 are shown in FIGURE l2 but it will be understood that the frame is symmetrical and includes four upright support posts. The horizontal supports 306 support a base plate 312 which extends therebetween and upon which is mounted an electric motor 314. Bearings 316 are supported by the horizontal supports 308 and are adapted to rotatably locate a drive shaft 318. The drive shaft 318 is driven by the electric motor 314 by means of pulleys 315 and 320 and drive belt 322. The upper horizontal supports 310 carry bearings 324 which are adapted to rotatably locate drive shaft 326. Drive shaft 326 is driven by means of pulleys 328, 330 and drive belt 332. The drive shaft 326 rigidly supports and drives a guide roll 340 which is substantially the same :as the 'guide roll 12 previously described in detail with the exception that it is of 'less width. The horizontal supports 310 also carry bearings 342, only one of which is shown in FIGURE l2. The bearings 342 support a rotatable shaft 344 substantially parallel to the shaft 326 of the `guide roll. The shaft 344 carries bobbin support arms 346 and 348 which are rigidly secured to the shaft 344. The support arm 346 is pivotally connected at its other end to a secondary support arm 350 which has an axis of rotation at right angles to the axis of rotation of the shaft 344. The bobbin spindle 352 extends between the secondary shaft 350 and the support arm 348 and is adapted to support a free running bobbin spool 354. The bobbin spindle 352 is detachably located with respect to the support arm 348 such that it can swing about the axis of rotation of the shaft 350 to permit the spool 354 to be mounted on or removed from the spindle 352.

As previously stated the skein winder 300 is adapted to operate in conjunction with the stationary swift and the winder provides the pulling tension on the end which causes unwinding of the end from the stationary swift. This pull is applied by means of driven pulleys 360 and 362 which are provided with knuriled grooves 364 and 366 which provides a gripping surface capable of applying a pulling force to the end. The pulleys 360 and 362 yare interconnected by means of la drive belt 368 such that they rotate in the same direction at the same speed. The pulley 362 is rotatably mounted on a bracket generally indicated by the numeral 370 which is pivotably connected to the upright support 304 by means of a pivot pin 372 such that the pulley 362 is free to swing upwardly toward the pulley 360.

The pulley 360 is keyed to fa drive shaft 374 which is rotatably carried by bearings 376 and 378. The drive shaft 374- is driven by means of pulleys 380 and 382 and drive belt 384. The pulley 382 is rigidly mounted on the drive shaft 326 Iwhich as previously described is driven by the electric motor 314.

An end separating wire 388 is rigidly secured to the frame and is bent to separate ladjacent -coils of the ends which extend around the pulleys 3160 and 362 as will be described later.

The incoming end to the skein Winder is fed over a pulley 400 which is rigidly carried by an upstanding support pillar 402 which is in turn rigidly secured to the frame. The pulley 400 is adapted to rotate freely upon the horizontally extending arm 404 which is rigidly secured to the upstan-ding member 402. The end passes from the pulley 400 upwardly to a pulley 406 which is carried by a pivoting arm 408. The Iarm 408` pivots relative to a control switch 410 which is carried by the upper end of the upstandin-g support 402. The switch 410 is adapted to be operated by the movement of the pulley 406 in response to tension in the end which is Wound about the pulleys 400 and 406 as will be described later. The switch 410 is operable to stop the electric motor 31-4 :and bring the complete bobbin Winder to -a halt.

The end passes to the guide roll 340 by Way of a guide pulley 412 and a slack take-up device 414 both of which are mounted on a cross bar 416- which extends between uprights 304. The guide roll 412 and the device 414 are rigidly mounted with respect to the cross bar 416. The slack take-up device 414 is provided With an expandable pulley 420 which as -a spring 421 tending to increase the effective diameter of the pulley. A tension sensing arm 430 is formed 4with a semi-circular loop at its lfree end 432 and is pivotably connected to a cut-out switch 434 which is carried by the transverse support 308. The arm 430 senses the tension in the end leading to the guide roll 340 and if the tension is relaxed then the arm pivots to interrupt the switch 434 which stops the electric motor 314 land thereby brings the bobbin Winder unit to a halt.

In FIGURE 13 the path of the end through the various pulleys and tension sensing devices is clearly shown in schematic form. The reference numerals applied in FIG- URE 13 correspond to those applied in FIGURE l2. The end 201 comes from the stationary swift as previously described and leads to the guide roll A400. The end is looped over the roll 406 and the roll 400. The end 20'1 leads from the roll 400 to the drive pulleys 360 and 362 and is looped over these pulleys to provide two complete loops which are separated by the separating wire 3188. The end 201 then passes to the guide pulley 412 and then to the slack take-up pulley 420. From the pulley 420 the end passes by way of the tension sensing arm 430 to the guide roll 340. The end is then wound into the package 500 which is driven by contact with the guide roll 340.

In operation the guide roll 340' and the pulleys 360 and 362 are Idriven and all other relating members are free running members. The pulling force for pulling the end from the skein is 4provided by the knurled pulleys 360 and 362. The tension in the end leading to the driven rolls is sensed by the rolls 400 and 406 and if the tension exceeds a predetermined amount then the roll 406 is pulled toward the roll 400 and this actuates the switch `410 which de-energizes the electric motor 314 and applies a backing `force to the driven members.

The tension sensing `arm 430 is adapted to sense the tension in the end extending between the tensioning roll 420 and the guide roll 340. In the event that there is not sucient tension in the end to permit even winding of the bobbin, then the tension sensing arm will move forward and actuate the switch 434 Which in turn deactivates the electric motor 314 and applies a breaking force to the complete unit.

From the fore-going it will be apparent that the tensioning means are operable to stop the bobbin Winder 300 when the tension in the end increases to a point Where the end ywould 'break and also when the tension decreases to a point where uneven winding of the bobbin would occur or when the end breaks.

Turning now to the consideration of the process as a whole, it will be apparent that this process provides an efficient method of skein dyeing yarn which comprises the steps of: winding the yarn from a bobbin onto a collapsible wheel, guiding the yarn transversely of the reel as it wound onto the reel to wind it in layers of equal depth that extend fully across the reel, stopping the Winding tionary swift and Winding the yarn from the stationary swift onto a bobbin.

Referring once more to FIGURE 1, it can be seen that the end is wound onto the expanded collapsible reel 14 to form a skein. The end is guided transversely of the reel as it is Wound onto the reel by the guide roll 12 and the grooves formed in the guide roll are arranged as previously described to deposit a layer of even thickness across the Width of the reel. When the required quantity of yarn is Wound onto the reel the skein Winder is stopped and the end is broken. The reel 14 is then collapsed by activating the pneumatic cylinder 70 and the skein is removed from the reel.

The skein then passes to the dyeing operation wherein a plurality of skeins are immersed in a dye vat and the dyeing fluid circulates the vat.

After the skein has been allowed to dry, it then passes to the stationary swift and is placed over the collapsed support arms 170. The yer ring 220 is then mounted on the shaft 210 and the end is lagged over the ring 228. The collapsible arms are then expanded to engage the skein 200 by actuating the foot pedal 196. The end is fed to the skein Winder 300 and the pull exerted by the bobbin Winder causes the end to unwind from the stationary swift. The unwinding of the end from the stationary swift causes rotation of the ilyer ring 220 and the rotation of the flyer ring assists the lifting of the end from the skein. The fact that the inner ring 228 is located centrally with respect to the expanded skein prevents the unwinding end from dragging across the skein and thereby avoids the danger of tangling.

In the final operation the end is rewound by the skein Winder 300. In the skein Winder the end is at first led lover a tension sensing device which is sensitive to excessive tension which could cause the end to break. This tension sensing device is arranged to stop the skein Winder before a tension capable of breaking the yarn is produced, and further, the device provides a slack which prevents the end from breaking due to the delay in time between the excessive tension being sensed and the time when the drive means is finally halted. It is to be noted that this sensing device is placed between the stationary swift and the drive pulleys carried by the skein Winder which unwind the end from the stationary swift.

The end passes from the tension sensing device to the drive pulleys 360 and 362 which unwind the end from the skein and feed the end to the guide roll 340. The en-d is wound onto a package spool 354 by the fraction created between the bobbin spool and the guide roll 340 and the tension in the end leading to the bobbin is sensed by the tension sensing device 340 as previously described.

An important feature of the present invention is the fact that the apparatus is capable of speeds considerably greater than those previously known.

The speed of winding from the package to the reel is limited by the strength of the yarn and it has been found that -most common yarns can be processed at speeds from 600 to 1500 yards per minute. This compares favourably with the speeds commonly used in the prior art which are generally in the region of 200 to 600 yards per minute with a possible maximum speed of 1200 yards per minute.

When winding from the skein to the package, the apparatus of the present invention is capable of operating at speeds from 600 to 1500 yards per minute, again the upper li-rnit being determined by the strength of the yarn. In the prior art the conventional Working speeds are in the region 'of 120 to 450 yards per minute.

It will be apparent from the foregoing speed comparisons that a considerable increase in speed can be achieved and when this fact is considered together with the fact that greater lengths of yarn are being processed, it will be apparent that the efficiency of the overall process is greatly increased.

The quality and uniformity of the yarn can be greatly aiected by the amount of tension to which it is subjected and the uniformity of the tension. In the normal process the yarn is subjected to considerable tension when it is unwinding from the rotating swift as it is the tension in the yarn which causes the swift to rotate. In the apparatus of the present invention there is very little tension in the end as it is unwinding from the stationary swift and feeding the package and consequently there is little or no stretching of the yarn.

The dep-th of the yarn on the reel must be such that it can be properly dyed in the vat as a skein. According to present practice the depth of the skein is about two inches and is adapted to t the pole distances in the skein kettle. The width of the skein is preferably about 22". This represents a substantial increase in the width over normal practice which is between 4 and 7. Certainly to achieve advantages from the present invention a width greater than is necessary having regard to the standard depth of two inches. The upper limit of the width of the skein is dictated by practical considerations, however is contemplated and even larger if dyeing equipment can be designed. The essence of the invention is the provision of means whereby the overall weight of the skein can be increased and this is done by arranging the layers so that they are of equal depth and extend fully across the skein as distinct from having the skein of a greater depth at the edge portions.

What we claim is:

1. A method of skein dyeing yarn comprising the steps of winding the yarn from a package into a skein on a collapsible reel, guiding said yarn as it is so wound transversely of said reel as it is so wound on said reel to wind it in layers of equal depth for their full extent across said reel, the depth of said yarn in said skein being adapted for skein dyeing, stopping said winding operation when a predetermined amount of yarn is wound on said reel, collapsing said reel and removing said yarn as a skein, dyeing said skein, mounting said skein on a swift, winding said yarn from said stationary swift into a package.

2. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 1 wherein skeins weighing from 6 ounces to 6 pounds are wound and dyed.

3. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 1 wherein said yarn is Wound from said package to said reel at speeds from 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

4. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 1 wherein said yarn is wound from said stationary swift into a package at a speed in the range of 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

5. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 1 wherein skeins weighing from 6 ounces to 12 pounds are wound and dyed.

6. A method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said skein is wound in a width greater than 10".

7. A method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said skein is wound in widths from 10 to 22".

8. A method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said skein is wound in widths from 10 to 40".

9. A method of skein dyeing yarn comprising the steps of winding the yarn from a package into a skein on a collapsible reel, guiding said yarn transversely of said reel as it is so wound on said reel to wind it in layers of equal depth for their full extent across said reel, the depth of said yarn in said skein being adapted for skein dyeing, stopping said winding operation when a predetermined amount of yarn is wound on said reel, collapsing said reel and removing said yarn as a skein, dyeing said skein, mounting said skein on a stationary swift, Winding said yarn from said stationary swift into a package.

10. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 9, wherein skein weighing from 6 ounces to 6 pounds are wound and dyed.

11. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 9, wherein said yarn is wound from said package to said reel at speeds from 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

12. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 9, wherein said yarn is wound from said stationary swift into a package at a speed in the range of 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

13. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 9, wherein skeins lweighing from 6 ounces to 12 pounds are wound and dyed.

14. A method of skein dyeing as lclaimed in claim 9, wherein said skein is wound in a width greater than 10".

15. A method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 9, wherein said skein is wound in widths from 10" to 22".

16. A method of skein dyeing as claimed in .claim 9, wherein said skein is wound in widths from 10" to 40".

17. A method of skein dyeing yarn comprising the steps of winding the yarn from a package into a skein on a collapsible reel, guiding said yarn as it is so wound transversely of the reel and increasing the traversing speed of the yarn at the extremities of the traverse to compensate for the increase in depth of the yarn resulting from the binding of the yarn caused by the reversal of the direction of traverse such that the yarn is wound in layers of equal deph for their full extent across said reel, the depth of said yarn in said skein being adapted for skein dyeing, stopping said winding operation when a predetermined amount of yarn is wound on said reel, collapsing said reel and removing said yarn as a skein, dyeing said skein, mounting said skein on a stationary swift, winding said yarn from said stationary swift into a package.

18. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 17, wherein skeins weighing from 6 ounces to 6 pounds are wound and dyed.

19. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 17, wherein said yarn is wound from said package to said reel at speeds from 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

20. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 17, wherein said yarn is wound from said stationary swift into a package at a speed in the range of 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

21. A method of skein dyeing yarn as claimed in claim 17, wherein skeins weighing from 6 ounces to 12 pounds are wound and dyed.

22` A method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 17, wherein said skein is wound in a Width greater than 10".

23. A method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 17, wherein said skein is wound in widths from 10" to 22".

24. A- method of skein dyeing as claimed in claim 17, wherein said skein is wound in widths from 10" to 40".

2S. A method 0f skein dyeing yarn comprising the steps of winding the yarn from a package into a skein on a collapsible reel at speeds in the ran-ge 0f 600 to 1500 yards per minute, guiding said yarn transversely of said reel as it is wound on said reel to wind it in layers of equal depth for their full extent across said reel, the depth of said yarn in said skein being adapted for skein dyeing, stopping said winding operation when from 6 ounces to 6 pounds of yarn is wound on said reel, collapsing said reel and removing said yarn as a skein, dyeing said skein, mounting said -skein on a stationary swift, winding said yarn from said stationary swift into a package at a speed in the range of 600 to 1500 yards per minute.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 822,844 6/ 1906 Hussong 68-188 1,631,893 6/1927 Schenck 68-21 FOREIGN PATENTS 249,891 8/1912 Germany.

WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner'.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 68-188; 28-21 

